How To Lose Your Audience In 3 Days

An advertising executive and a magazine writer meet in a bar! Benjamin Barry, an advertising executive, bets that he can make a woman fall in love with him in 10 days in order to win a massive campaign. Andie Anderson covers the “How To” articles for a magazine and writes an article on “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.” Sound familiar? That’s the synopsis for the movie “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.”

I was watching this movie the other day and it got me thinking about Kate Hudson’s character, Andie. She intends to start dating a guy and intentionally drive him away using classic dating mistakes. I have seen many businesses do the same thing, and much like Andie, they get their audience interested and they give them a reason to listen but then they drive their audience away over time using the following classic mistakes.

Getting F**ked Over By Your Content

Don’t be that guy that is way too good to be true and pretends to be helpful (but really you are just a shady AF, one night stand loving, selfish dude). The foundation of any relationship is commitment and trust. Your content marketing efforts should be a testament to your willingness to help, educate provide value and obvs #RelationshipGoals.

Don’t be that guy that says ‘I love you’ on the first date. Relationships can’t be rushed, they need time and nourishment to grow and last. R-E-S-P-E-C-T your audience and their willingness to commit to you as their life long partner…don’t be pushy! Give them a little something to solve their problem without the expectation of getting something back in return. You got to give a little to get back a whole hell of a lot.

Treat them mean, keep them keen! Let me clarify that this does not mean play so hard to get that you are virtually unattainable and your audience finds solace in another lover’s waiting and open arms. What I mean is, tease a little. Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back!

Is That Magic Gone Or Did You Just Get Lazy?

In every relationship, needs and desires are fulfilled with continuous nourishment from one and the other. Yin and Yang! You anticipate your partner’s needs and wants continuously by putting yourself in their shoes. As you satisfy one want, another one arises. You then strive to make them happy.

To keep them happy you always need to be on top of your love game and their desires. In return, they reciprocate by sharing your adoring content with others, gush to everyone about how awesome you are and they keep coming back for more.

I was born to make you happy.” – Britney Spears

But then something happens. You get lazy with your adoring content, your audience no longer feel part of your marketing but feeling rather like they are being marketed at, you become neglectful and your audience gets less attention. Before you know it, the passion and magic is gone! Your audience starts to feel neglected and turns to another lover that meets their needs, wants and desires.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” – Jesus

It is useful to pause and think what made your partner fall in love with you in the first place…or in this case what content made your audience fall head over heels for you. Let me break it down for you real nice here. Think about when you are buying someone a present. That’s exactly what your content, education, value and #RelationshipGoals should feel like. A thoughtful and loving present from you to your audience.

Most importantly…what’s your overall intention? Are your intentions nefarious or divine? If your content is for them then to self-promote is human, to valuable content divine. If all your content is purely and solely just shameless advertising and self-promotion (all about you instead of WHAT you can do) then shame on you. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.

Honey, I’m Home And I Had Such A Shi**y Day

What do you talk about in your social media page? What does your content provide? Is it all about me, me, me or your audience’s interests? Sure, you obviously matter, but you shouldn’t come home with ‘I had’. Come home with, ‘Hey honey, how was your day?’ Perk up your loveable ears and listen with loving enthusiasm.

Honey, I’m home and I had a hard day. Pour me a cold one and oh, by the way. Rub my feet, gimme something to eat. Fix me up my favourite treat.” – Shania Twain

Start by listening to their problems and then jump in with how you can solve those problems with your adoring expertise. Social monitoring and listening are pivotal to your social media strategy. Social media is not just platform for you to spread your content seeds. Social media is also about placing your ears to the ground and listening very closely. It’s called SOCIAL media for a reason and conversation is a two-way Love Lane. It’s never really about you or how kick a** you are at what you do, it’s all about them and how awesome they are.

It’s time we stop. Hey, what’s that sound? Everybody look – what’s going down?” – Buffalo Springfield

Give a good shout out and show your audience that you truly love and value them. Humans adore acknowledgment and recognition. It shows that you actually care. Share their content on your social media pages. Thank them, join in on the conversation and ask questions. User Generated Content is a powerful love tool that makes your audience feel part of the brand love story. Recognise, Engage, Encourage!